By Florida is home to several species of hawks, each with unique characteristics and habitats. Some of the most commonly observed hawks in Florida include the Red-shouldered Hawk, the Red-tailed Hawk, the Cooper’s Hawk, the Broad-winged Hawk, and the Swainson’s Hawk.
These hawks vary in size, plumage, and hunting behaviours, but they all play essential roles in Florida’s ecosystems as apex predators. Hawks in Florida are an exciting and varied group of birds that add to the state’s rich biodiversity. They can be seen flying high above the Everglades or hunting in the suburbs.
8 Types of Hawks in Florida
Red-tailed Hawk
The scientific name for the Red-tailed Hawk is Buteo jamaicensis, a famous bird of prey all over North America. This species is recognized for its striking appearance, with adults featuring a reddish-brown tail that gives them their name. Red-tailed Hawks are large raptors, with wingspans ranging from 3.3 to 4.6 feet and weights averaging between 1.5 to 3.5 pounds. They are good hunters because they can see well and have sharp claws. They can catch many animals, such as rabbits, small birds, and mice.
These hawks inhabit diverse habitats, including forests, grasslands, deserts, and urban areas, demonstrating their adaptability to different environments. They often perch on high vantage points, such as trees or utility poles, scanning the surroundings for potential prey.
Breeding season typically occurs in the spring, with pairs engaging in aerial courtship displays and building nests in trees or on cliffs. Red-tailed Hawks are monogamous and may mate for life.
Cooper’s Hawk
Accipiter cooperii is the formal name for the Cooper’s Hawk. It is a medium-sized bird of prey that lives in North America. Known for its swift flight and agile hunting skills, this species belongs to the Accipitridae family and is closely related to other raptors like the Sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Goshawk. Sexual dimorphism means that female Cooper’s Hawks are more significant than males.
Identifying features of the Cooper’s Hawk include a slate-grey back, pale underparts with horizontal reddish bars, and distinctive rounded wings with a long tail.
Their plumage provides excellent camouflage in forested habitats where they are commonly found. During these, hawks like to live in wooded areas and often build their nests in old woods; you can also see them in suburban neighbourhoods and city parks.
Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk, whose formal name is Buteo platypterus, is a small to medium-sized hawk that lives mainly in North and South America. Belonging to the family Accipitridae, this hawk species is recognized for its distinctive broad wings and short, broad tail. The Broad-winged Hawk has wings that are about 32 to 39 inches long. It is known for flying gracefully and being able to soar.
This bird of prey is often spotted in wooded habitats, including forests, woodlands, and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. It likes places with lots of plants and water because it can find many small mammals, birds, frogs, and insects to eat.
Broad-winged Hawks build nests out of sticks, leaves, and other plant materials during the breeding season, which lasts from April to July. They often place their nests high in trees, typically in the forks of branches. Like many raptors, they are monogamous and may use the same nesting site year after year.
This bird, the Broad-winged Hawk, is known for travelling long distances from its breeding grounds in North America to its wintering grounds in Central and South America.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk, whose formal name is Buteo platypterus, is a Sharp-shinned Hawk, scientifically known as Accipiter striatus, and is a small to medium-sized bird of prey found across North and Central America.
This hawk species is in the Accipitridae family and is known for its quick flying and sharp claws, which it uses to catch small animals and birds. The Sharp-shinned Hawk exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, with females larger than males.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is about 9 to 14 inches long and has a wingspan of 17 to 22 inches. Its wings are short and round, and its tail is long and narrow. Its plumage varies depending on age and sex, with adults typically having blue-grey upperparts and reddish-brown barring on the underparts.
This hawk species prefers forested habitats, including deciduous and coniferous forests, where it can find ample cover for hunting. It is often observed perched in trees or flying low over vegetation in pursuit of prey.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus is the formal name for the Red-shouldered Hawk. It is a medium-sized bird of prey that lives in North America. Belonging to the family Accipitridae, this hawk species is recognized for its distinctive red shoulder patches and loud, piercing calls. It inhabits various forested habitats, including woodlands, swamps, and riparian areas, where it hunts for small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and occasionally birds.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is about 16 to 24 inches long and has a wingspan of 37 to 43 inches. Its wings are broad and round, and its tail is long and striped. Its plumage varies geographically but generally consists of brownish upperparts with reddish-brown shoulder patches and a streaked belly.
During the breeding season, typically from February to July, Red-shouldered Hawks form monogamous pairs and build nests of sticks lined with softer materials like moss and bark. Most of the time, these nests are found in the branches of big trees, which is a safe place for the eggs and young.
Northern Harrier
The Northern Harrier, sometimes called the Marsh Hawk, is a thin, medium-sized hawk in the genus Circus of the family Accipitridae. This bird of prey is widely distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia, favouring open habitats such as marshes, grasslands, and agricultural fields.
The Northern Harrier is easy to spot because it has long, narrow wings that let it soar and glide over its hunting grounds and a disk on its face that looks like an owl’s for finding food. Its plumage varies between males and females, with males exhibiting grey upperparts and white undersides, while females and juveniles have brown streaked plumage.
Northern Harrier is a skilled hunter, specialising in low-level flights over vegetation in search of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. It hunts by hovering or flying low over the ground and then pounces on its food. It has perfect eyesight and hearing.
Northern Harrier’s breeding season lasts from March to July. They build their nests on the ground in tall grasses or bushes. Females typically lay a clutch of 4-6 eggs, which are incubated for around 30 days before hatching.
Swainson’s Hawk
This medium-sized bird of prey is called the Swainson’s Hawk, and it is famous for its fantastic migration patterns and beautiful looks. These hawks have long, broad wings and a distinctive “buteo” shape, characterised by a vast body and short tail. The upper parts of adults are dark brown, and the underparts are light brown. Juveniles, on the other hand, are primarily brown with streaks on the underparts.
During the breeding season, Swainson’s Hawks can nest in open habitats such as prairies, grasslands, and agricultural fields across North and South America. They build large stick nests in trees or artificial structures like power poles or telephone poles.
Swainson’s Hawks are highly migratory birds, undertaking one of the longest migration routes of any North American raptor. Every year, they fly thousands of miles from where they breed in North America to where they spend the winter in South America. Their migration routes often take them over the Great Plains and Central America.
Short-tailed Hawk
The Short-tailed Hawk is a fascinating bird of prey known for its distinctive appearance and behaviour. The name of this hawk comes from the fact that its tail is shorter than most hawks’ tails. It belongs to the genus Buteo, which includes many species of broad-winged hawks.
Short-tailed Hawks are found in parts of Central and South America, including countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. They inhabit various forested habitats, including tropical rainforests, woodlands, and savannas. Short-tailed Hawks don’t migrate like other hawks; they stay in their areas all year.
These hawks are relatively small compared to other members of the Buteo genus, with adults typically measuring around 14 to 18 inches in length. They have a wingspan of approximately 30 to 36 inches. Short-tailed Hawks exhibit sexual dimorphism, with females being slightly larger than males.
Short-tailed Hawks primarily feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. They hunt by soaring high above the forest canopy, using their keen eyesight to spot prey below. Once prey is detected, they dive swiftly to capture it with their paws.
Final Words
In conclusion, the Short-tailed Hawk is an interesting species because of the way it looks and acts. Despite its relatively small size, this bird of prey plays a significant role in its ecosystem as a predator of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. It is different from other hawks because it has a short tail, and the fact that it likes to live in forests makes it even more enjoyable.
While the Short-Tailed Hawk faces habitat loss and degradation, conservation efforts aim to safeguard its populations and habitats. We can help protect this species and make sure it continues to do well in the many areas it lives in by spreading information about it and taking action to protect it.